Tijjani Reijnders starred and Rayan Cherki scored a beauty as the debutants helped Man City make a winning start to the Premier League season, beating Wolves 4-0 at Molineux.
Dutchman Reijnders was crowned Serie A midfielder of the year before joining City in a £46.3m switch from AC Milan this summer and immediately demonstrated his class on his first Premier League appearance, as Pep Guardiola's side showed they are up for the title fight.
There was neat footwork from Reijnders before a wonderful, lofted pass for Rico Lewis to tee up Erling Haaland for a simple opener on 34 minutes. He then followed that up moments later with a brilliant finish himself, arrowing the ball into the far corner with a first-time shot with his weaker left foot.
Reijnders wasn't done there, recording an assist in the second half when a crisp finish by Haaland put City out of sight.
If City are entering a new post-Kevin De Bruyne era, 27-year-old Reijnders looks like he could now be the talisman in the middle. "They've got a new hero," said Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp.
They may have another one in Cherki, too. The No 10 - a £34m buy from Lyon - fired into the bottom corner from the edge of the box with nine minutes to play to wrap up the win and send out a warning message to City's title rivals.
Redknapp: Classy performance from Reijnders
Sky Sports' Jamie Redknapp:
"It was a classy performance [from Reijnders]. When you bring in new players, you want them to start well to endear themselves to the fans.
"There will be plenty of them thinking, 'I want a number 10 shirt', or 'I'm going to buy a Reijnders shirt now', because they are going to be the new heroes.
"There have been so many amazing midfield players at that club, like David Silva, like Kevin De Bruyne, but time moves on. Can you do the right recruitment and bring in the right players?
"It's early but [Reijnders and Cherki] have got used to the Premier League very quickly."
Guardiola: The attitude and many things were good
Man City boss Pep Guardiola:
"First half good, second no. The attitude and many things were good, but the second half, they were better in certain moments but it's good to improve winning 4-0. All the new ones [were impressive]. Tijjani was one of the best players in Serie A, he has an unbelievable rhythm.
"In the first game, you never know. We didn't play many friendlies in pre-season, but many things were good, especially in the first half. In the second half, we dropped too much but maybe that is normal in the beginning of the season.
"Last season, we also started with hunger and energy... I don't have any complaints over how we're behaving in the training sessions. But we will see, it is just the first game so there are many points still to play."
City look like title contenders once again - but there's worry for Wolves
This was a result and performance which will build confidence in the City camp, following their poor 2024/25 campaign. With Phil Foden and Rodri to come back into the squad, the signs are Guardiola's refreshed, next-phase City will be back in the Premier League race. The home game with Tottenham next Saturday should reveal more.
Wolves will certainly hope this is not an indicator of what's to come.
Marshall Munetsi had the ball in the net when he headed home from an offside position when the game was goalless and Jorgen Strand Larsen hit the side-netting early in the second half but they were missing Matheus Cunha's threat in attack, following his sale to Man Utd, and exploited by City at the other end.
Vitor Pereira - who made a quadruple substitution with 19 minutes to play - will hope a chastening opening day defeat doesn't leave a lasting impact on his squad who have been predicted to struggle this season.
Pereira: Man City punished our mistakes
Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira to Sky Sports:
"We faced a strong team, technically strong, individually strong.
"But we created a lot of chances to score and I believe that the difference was not only who scored the goals but when we committed a mistake, they scored. They punished us.
"When we had the chance to score, we didn't. I'm not happy, but we play with courage, we didn't play just to defend, but to press them in some moments of the game.
"In the end, the result is a result that if I don't see the match, it's one that cannot translate inside."
